The Big Fella's Blogs

I'm with ya!

2011-12-06T12:37:26.761-06:00

I'm with ya!

Love! But I'm with you...there is nothing, an...

2011-12-02T23:28:18.985-06:00

Love! But I'm with you...there is nothing, and I mean absolutely NOTHING worth getting up at 4 a.m. and standing in line with tons of lunatics who've been camping out in tents and peeing in the parking lot for 30+ hours to buy. Nothing. Besides, most stores only get 20 or so of the 'big' loss-leader $200 60" LCD TVs. Good luck, loser number 21...you just spent Thanksgiving in 40 degree weather in a freakin' tent for jack.

Joel - I was really moved by your open letter. You...

2011-11-13T19:03:03.610-06:00

Joel - I was really moved by your open letter. You know far better than me how special your Dad is - I say that in present tense on purpose. His being gone doesn't change that a bit. We really looked forward to the few times you guys made it back to Oregon. Those were fun times getting reacquainted.

I'm guessing your dad's patience was learned from his daddy. Grandpa was a man of few words and considerable patience. He also liked a good story or joke and could get a mischievous grin on his face over something silly.

Being aware of your own shortcomings is part of the battle and you're blessed to have known a good role model. You'll have plenty of opportunities to work the "patience muscle" -- paying attention to them will help you improve...

By the way, I had forgotten that I got married on Uncle Jack's birthday -- it'll be 23 years this month. Just a little something to remember on that day. :-)

Hey Big Joe, Here is a post that includes a brew ...

2011-09-07T14:57:21.001-05:00

Hey Big Joe,

Here is a post that includes a brew at the end.

http://poetslife.blogspot.com/

If you don't know Hook and Ladder, it was founded by a volunteer firefighter. They give a part of their sales to burn units.

It takes a special (peculiar?) kind of person to e...

2011-08-30T20:43:08.091-05:00

It takes a special (peculiar?) kind of person to enjoy that kind of torture. Could probably say the same for any kind of restaurant. Tony Bourdain's first book sounds a little like this - barely controlled chaos, unique characters who thrive on this kind of pressure and don't fit the typical 9-5 work-a-day grind. Life in a cubicle would kill them in a minute.

For the sake of the story, I combined you and John...

2011-08-30T15:33:40.231-05:00

For the sake of the story, I combined you and John, Peter. You were the good worker and he was perpetually late. In other news, that club was for me, dammit. Please destroy all evidence. I may want to run for public office some day. I have an overwhelming need to gargle. With Lysol.

wow, I'm not the only person who still has fon...

2011-08-30T14:35:06.357-05:00

wow, I'm not the only person who still has fond nightmares about the taproom? mine are all from the perpetually late cooks perspective though. "sorry boss, this cop tried to arrest me for not being a criminal but had to let me go after an hour of searching my car. lets do it, 50 orders, thank god I did prep earlier... who froze all this food? people can't eat frozen food, wth... if you know you're allergic to it then why did you order it moron? btw I put my monster on that club pal and took pictures so everyone else can enjoy that sammich as much as you jerk. next time don't order after we're closed.

I'm honored that you included me in the story ...

2011-08-24T13:05:45.831-05:00

I'm honored that you included me in the story (Farmer)!

2011-08-24T13:04:40.655-05:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

Yes, I know. I mostly wanted to discuss the contra...

2011-03-13T19:19:06.559-05:00

Yes, I know. I mostly wanted to discuss the contradictions associated with St. Patrick's Day, and the music, not St. Patrick himself, even though he was an amazing man. There will be more to come!

Hey there JOel. We miss your bar, too! Especiall...

2011-03-13T17:29:02.060-05:00

Hey there JOel. We miss your bar, too! Especially at St. Patrick's time.

I found something interesting regarding Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick is very revered in the CAtholic church. The only reason he wasn't formally canonized was simply because at the time he became a saint, there wasn't a formal canonization process. Also, St. Patrick was honored as a martyr based on the struggles he overcame bringing faith to Ireland and all martyrs were considered saints. As a matter of fact, I believe there is a Feast day within the liturgical calendar to celebrate Innocents and Martyrs.

Most of the Apostles were also not formally canonized due to the lack of formal process...but certainly, St. Paul, St. Peter, all the Apostles....all Saints, without the formal canonization process.

Here's a link to New Advent Encyclopedia for St. Patrick....
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11554a.htm

And here's a link explaining about the Church's lack of formal canonization process.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_was_St._Patrick_canonized

"There was no formal canonization process in the Church during its first millennium. In the early years of the Church the title saint was bestowed first upon martyrs, and then upon individuals recognized by tradition as being exceptionally holy during their lifetimes."

Sweet. Beautiful. And so you guys. Love it.

2011-02-15T21:18:15.480-06:00

Sweet. Beautiful. And so you guys. Love it.

One of your all-time BEST stories! Love it! Aren...

2011-02-06T12:19:19.356-06:00

One of your all-time BEST stories! Love it! Aren't you glad you put it in writing? The boys will so love it when they get older - great memories of when we pulled one over on Dad!!

Nice job, Joel.

2010-10-17T19:34:02.202-05:00

Nice job, Joel.

Well said and I agree - on all points. The part a...

2010-08-15T09:43:28.952-05:00

Well said and I agree - on all points. The part about children is particularly relevant to me....is a kid being raised in an orphanage better off than one in a home with two parents who love each other and WANT that child? I think it's pretty obvious and I'll never buy any argument otherwise.

You see, in my opinion, this whole gay marriage th...

2010-08-15T09:41:49.395-05:00

You see, in my opinion, this whole gay marriage things is the off-shoot of our society's dangerous plunge into no-fault divorce 30 years ago. a very small percentage of the population actually takes their marriage seriously - so THAT is what has flushed "sanctity of marriage" down the toilet. It happened long ago.

to the people who hypocritically decry gay marriage as destroying the sanctity of marriage - I point them int he direction of our parents' generation - no one seemed to be worrying about the sanctity of marriage as they were all having "free" love - smoking pot - getting married and then getting divorced when marriage no longer suited them.

I could go further as to how sanctity of marriage was destroyed even before that. But, I guess I'll save that for my own blog. :P

And you call yourself a conservative. I'm disa...

2010-08-15T09:17:31.003-05:00

And you call yourself a conservative.
I'm disappointed sir.
In this we are in utter agreement.
Marriage is a social contract between two people, nothing more.
If a church doesn't recognize gay marriage that's their choice but just because they disagree doesn't mean two people can't join in a social contract.

Might have a slight problem in Basketball Dynastie...

2010-08-08T11:26:46.320-05:00

Might have a slight problem in Basketball Dynasties and Best Catches...other than that, I think it's pretty good!

I don't think anyone suggests the stimulus and...

2010-07-18T22:27:46.248-05:00

I don't think anyone suggests the stimulus and bailout bills were designed to get us out of debt. They were intended to avert an economic collapse. I don't pretend to know how much they helped or didn't help. I do know that my common sense meter suggests that borrowing and spending beyond the government's means wouldn't be the wisest way to fend off a recession caused by...people and businesses borrowing and spending beyond their means. It would be like eating donuts to lose weight.

At its root, the government budget is just like a personal budget: to get into black numbers instead of red, you must take in more than you spend. The only way we are going to make a dent in the debt is by simultaneously (gulp) raising taxes and cutting spending. It would be political suicide, so only a second-term president with a wild streak would dare propose it. I don't know how it would pass the House OR Senate, because every one of those jackasses wants to stay in office and they know a "yes" vote would mean they'd be voted out.

The question is, when do we take our medicine? Unless I'm missing something, we can't just keep putting it off.

I think point #3 is where the rubber meets the roa...

2010-07-18T21:32:13.181-05:00

I think point #3 is where the rubber meets the road. We elect these idiots and do so, at least I think most of the time, based on what they say when they campaign. Now, what we fail to remember is the old joke...how do you know if a politician is lying? His mouth is moving. My point...people need to pay attention and educate themselves - about the issues, the problems and the candidates - not just rely on 30-second bashing sound-bytes taken as gospel by the masses who are too lazy to open a newspaper, read a book or God forbid, actually read a news story online versus play Facebook Farmville.

I'd bet money that the kids leaving my 8th grade U.S. history class know far more about our American government than the average "man on the street." And that's pathetic. I'm just sayin....

Ya know...you could always come to Doo Dah and vis...

2010-07-09T23:19:28.445-05:00

Ya know...you could always come to Doo Dah and visit a really terrific zoo!

If you go to Lincoln...there IS a kids hands-on mu...

2010-07-08T13:24:22.606-05:00

If you go to Lincoln...there IS a kids hands-on museum there and I have heard really great things about it. (You mentioned that Nebraska would be better...so I wondered if you were going there next)

About 25 yrs ago I spent a summer in eastern Monta...

2010-07-03T22:00:00.616-05:00

About 25 yrs ago I spent a summer in eastern Montana and we drove through Deadwood, visited Mt Rushmore & Wall Drug (ick)- had beeffalo burgers (yum)- really beautiful country.

So Wall Drug is the Red X of SD?

2010-07-03T10:07:57.328-05:00

So Wall Drug is the Red X of SD?

My brother just got back from a similar trip and s...

2010-07-02T08:30:43.717-05:00

My brother just got back from a similar trip and sure enough, he and his wife went to Wall Drug. Watch out for bears.